'I had to change the double-click speed on the keyboard because my cold fingers couldn’t move fast enough any more,' Tom Addis.

I don’t care how far it is to Itajaí. I really don’t, and I know I’m not alone; we’ll get there when we get there. We have been looking ahead to Cape Horn since the instant we left Auckland, bashing our brains out during the dive into the Southern Ocean chaos. As my friends at home would say, it was an absolute pillow fight, and we took one hell of a beating down there.

In the midst of all that abuse, the Cape and it’s promised relief have always seemed the logical goal, the obvious destination. And now that we’re just a short ways away – around 200 miles – the final 2,000 miles of Leg 5 sailing are being analyzed, of course. But the honest truth: to this team, to these 11 guys, just getting here is a huge relief and an accomplishment worthy of a solid pat on the back. We’ll happily accept a warranted ‘'job well done,' even before we cross any finish line.

But man…we are exhausted. Thankfully, tomorrow we turn north and in doing so put a major race milestone behind us. It is a milestone that, like the Southern Ocean, very few people get to reach, and for Rome and I, it’s our first rounding. I can’t speak for the 22-year-old, but I will never forget the next 24 hours, and I could care less whether we see it or not. Doesn’t matter. It’s Cape Horn, rain or shine, and that’s very awesome.

It’s why you sign up for this race, for experiences like these. But in re-reading this, I don’t know if it will hold the same significance for the more experienced guys (Brad has already rounded the Horn five times). If it’s casualness they show, it’s casualness they’ve earned. Either way, we’ll all find solace in the warmer temperatures!